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The Timeless Joy of the Tree Swing
Spring is all behind us now and the hot days of summer are officially here. I love seeing the kids outside playing on these long summer days…enjoying every moment of freedom before fall arrives and school work calls once again.
Summer always gets me feeling a bit nostalgic, thinking back to my own childhood days playing, Freeze Tag, Kick the Can and Simon Says late into the evening, always trying to squeeze the last bit of daylight out of every summer day.
If you have children or grandchildren, it’s always fun to incorporate playful features into the landscape with them in mind. One of the simplest ways to add a little outdoor fun is with an old fashioned tree swing. For me, a tree swing conjures up a simpler place and time. I’m instantly transported back, strolling the streets of Mayberry, half expecting to see Opie and Aunt Bea coming around the next corner.
Have you been thinking about adding an outdoor swing or tree swing to your landscape? Here's a little inspiration to get those tree swing thoughts flowing...
Summer always gets me feeling a bit nostalgic, thinking back to my own childhood days playing, Freeze Tag, Kick the Can and Simon Says late into the evening, always trying to squeeze the last bit of daylight out of every summer day.
If you have children or grandchildren, it’s always fun to incorporate playful features into the landscape with them in mind. One of the simplest ways to add a little outdoor fun is with an old fashioned tree swing. For me, a tree swing conjures up a simpler place and time. I’m instantly transported back, strolling the streets of Mayberry, half expecting to see Opie and Aunt Bea coming around the next corner.
Have you been thinking about adding an outdoor swing or tree swing to your landscape? Here's a little inspiration to get those tree swing thoughts flowing...
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| This picture says summer in every way. A white picket fence running along a shady neighborhood sidewalk with a wonderful tree swing beckoning to it's next thrill-seeking passenger. |
| Surprisingly, tree swings even look great in less traditional outdoor settings. Whatever your landscape design, a tree swing could add just the right touch of whimsy and fun that might otherwise be missing. |
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If you don't have a big, old sturdy tree limb from which to hang your swing, consider building a support similar to the one shown here.
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| Now, here's a whole different take on the outdoor swing. This one even has adjustable back rests! |
by Nicole Hollis
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Want to do your swinging in airconditioned comfort? I have just the swing for you!
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Your tree swing doesn't have to sit idle come winter time. Dress it up with a lilttle faux greenery and some red bows for the holiday season.
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| Come evening time, surprise and delight passerbys with a little light show. This is the very same swing you saw in the picture above. Looks very different at night, doesn't it? |
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Swinging from the trees doesn't have to be a solitary pastime. If you have a really sturdy limb, you could hang a two seater! There is a technique to hanging a tree swing so it doesn't cause harm to the tree. You'll find some great tips on how to hang one, here: http://search.thisoldhouse.com/search.html?Ntt=tree+swing&bu=
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Oh, the dreams you could dream, soaring through the air on an old fashioned tree swing. Fasten your seat belt! Next stop...over the rainbow!
Do you have any tree swing memories from your childhood?
Do you have any tree swing memories from your childhood?
Ideabook updated on June 29, 2010.
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Great job, as usual, with your topic!
Best,
Gloria
We had an old tire swing suspended by a thick old rope to a huge walnut tree in our back yard when I was growing up. We would swing & spin for hours. Aside from the occasional bees nest in the tire which lead to bee stings on the bottom, we absolutely loved that big old tree and our swing.
Thanks for your post:-)
I'm looking for great places with out door swings to do cover art for my CD, could you possibly tell me where these photos were taken?
the tree swing or tire swing funny diagrams - for training, presentations, etc
The famous tree swing picture (also known as tyre swing, tire swing, rope swing) depicting tyre (or tire) and rope swing in various states of dysfunctionality, illustrates the pitfalls of poor product design, or poor customer service, and the dangers of failing to properly listen to customers and interpret their needs. The tree swing also demonstrates the dangers of departmental barriers, and failures of departments to talk to each other, and to talk to customers. As such, the tree swing is perfect for training these areas of quality, communications, customer care and inter-departmental relations. If you are using the tree swing to highlight a training subject most people very readily interpret the pictures into their own organisational situations. Some tree swing discussion points are at the foot of the page.
See the new Businessballs tree swing cartoons - a specially produced collection extending the original tree swing theme to wider aspects of business and organizational daftness.
the tree swing
what marketing suggested
what management approved
as designed by engineering
what was manufactured
as maintenance installed it
what the customer wanted
tree swing (or tyre/tire swing) discussion points
Normally no pointers are needed - people very readily interpret the pictures into their own organisational situation. Here are a few typical 'them and us' reactions just in case:
of marketing - add unnecessary value, add complexity, bells and whistles, embellish, put their own mark onto things, fanciful, impractical, untested, untried, creativity for creativity's sake, subjective not objective, theoretical not practical, clever ideas, think they know what's best for the customers even if the survey feedback is utterly clear, fail to consult with engineering, production and anyone else in the organisation.
of management - cost-conscious, process-led rather than output-aware, failure to understand and interpret real issues and implications, failure to ask questions, committee decisions produce impractical solutions, removed from reality, detached from customers and front-line staff, failure to consult with users and functional departments.
of engineering - technical interpretation rather than practical, unconcerned with aesthetics and ergonomics, consideration stops after the 'can we build it?' stage, lack of consultation with specifiers and user representatives, meets specification but doesn't work properly, inappropriate materials and absence of styling.
of manufacturing - production specification over-rides design considerations, a law unto themselves, you get what you're given, any colour you like as long as it's black, detached from users, specifiers, designers, and everyone else except other manufacturing staff, unconcerned with usability or functionality, certainly unconcerned with bells and whistles and added value, totally focused on production efficiency, cost and time, lack of liaison with all other departments.
of maintenance - necessity is the mother of invention, very big tool-boxes, huge stocks of parts and ancillaries, materials, nuts, bolts and all other fixings known to man, happy to work all hours, especially evenings, weekends and public holidays at treble-time-and-a-half with days off in lieu, never consult with specifiers or customer specifications, enjoy quick-fixes, sticky-tape, mastic, bending bracketry, planks of wood and extended tea-breaks, never liaise with any other departments and think management are all useless idiots who can't even change a plug.
of customers - if only we'd listened, understood, and checked with them once in a while......
origins of the tree swing pictures
Uncertainty surrounds the origins of the tree swing cartoons. Several variations of the cartoons now exist